This morning (Sunday) the Association of Pediatricians in Israel published a position paper according to which Israel is in a “state of emergency” – when, according to the document, over 170,000 children in Israel are not vaccinated against the polio virus. Following the publication, the Association of Pediatricians stated that the lack of resources prevents the vaccination of 170,000 children against the virus: “We need to find the children who have not been vaccinated and make the vaccine available to them.”
The organization announces an “emergency call for widespread preparation” after the diagnosis of two cases of paralysis as a result of the virus in two unvaccinated children. The two cases come after three decades in which there were no clinical cases (cases of paralysis) of polio in Israel.
(Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90: photography)
Prof. Liat Ashkenazi-Hopennung, representative of the Association of Pediatricians and director of the outpatient department at Schneider Hospital, described to the “Davar” newspaper a difficult situation according to which “there are 170,000 children in the State of Israel who have not been vaccinated with the shot, the only vaccine that protects children from all polio strains. Most parents have not They refused the vaccine, but encountered technical problems that prevented them from vaccinating the children. The vaccination centers are not accessible, and are open during limited hours. We need to locate the children who have not been vaccinated and make the vaccine available to them. Everyone is making tremendous efforts, but the efforts are limited due to a lack of resources and personnel.”
The organization suggests locating and vaccinating children who are not vaccinated against polio by the health insurance funds and pediatricians, and calls on the Israeli government to urgently provide the resources required to locate and vaccinate children who have never been vaccinated against the virus. In addition to this, the doctors recommend an additional dose of vaccination for the children who have been vaccinated in the past, as well as vaccination of sewage and health workers who come into contact with the virus frequently.
The organization’s general recommendation is to call for increased awareness of hygiene in day care centers and kindergartens, and mainly maintaining hand hygiene. The virus is transmitted by contact, so hand washing is essential in order to prevent the transmission of the virus. The organization recommends washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially in situations of contact with food and after leaving the toilet.
It should be noted that in 2022 the Ministry of Health launched the “Two Drops” operation to increase the percentage of those vaccinated and to complete the vaccination doses, but in light of the low mobilization of pediatricians and health insurance funds, the vaccination percentages were low and the operation was not successful.